Kroger and Sam's Club took the number-one spots in television and radio, respectively.

In regard to advertising effectiveness in September, Kroger and Sam’s Club muscled out traditional department store and apparel retailers while ABX said it added a new metric for measuring marketing: gender equality.

In this month’s report, ABX said U.S. retailers ran 632 new ads, which is “by far the highest number we’ve seen since starting this [report] in May of 2016,” the firm’s researchers said. The ABX Advertising Benchmark Index measures the impact and effectiveness of ads using numerous variables. A measure of 100 equals “average effectiveness.”

For television, supermarket chain Kroger took the number-one spot with “The Taste of Italy.” The 30-second spot scored a 133 on the ABX Index and was bolstered by a 136 score on “message” and a 211 reading on “reputation.”

This month, ABX included data for the new Gender Equality Measure, which is part of the #SeeHER effort from the Alliance for Family Entertainment and the Association of National Advertisers. The Kroger television ad, which featured a family celebration meal, scored a 120 on the GEM measure. ABX said that “Kroger presented females of all ages in a highly respectful and appropriate fashion in this spot.”

“This index was debuted at the White House in June, and is designed to help advertisers learn how to better portray women and girls in the media,” ABX noted. “The GEM has been included in any of the Top Retail Ads of the month where women/girls are part of the featured creative.”

For radio, Sam’s Club’s Labor Day ad was number one with 115 ABX Index reading, and a 136 score with “reputation” as well as a 120 reading on “message.” For print, Kroger’s display ad touting fresh food was the best performer with an ABX Index of 126, which was fueled by a “reputation” reading of 157. In the digital ad category, Best Buy’s 60-second video was tops with an ABX Index of 129. The overall effectiveness was driven by a “reputation” score of 193. Since this ad featured women, it garnered GEM ready, which came in at 108. ABX said the GEM score is 8 percent “above average and reflects the professional roles women played in this segment.”

In the freestanding insert category, Sam’s Club was number one with a 124 ABX Index score. And for outdoor ads, Kroger took the top spot with a billboard encouraging consumers to get a flu shot — and the company would then “donate a meal.” This ad scored a 123 on the ABX Index and was buoyed by a 185 reading for “reputation.”

Angela Jeffrey, vice president of brand management at ABX, said the two ads featuring women this month “accurately portray women.”

“Congratulations to both Kroger and Best Buy for being great examples of where advertising needs to go,” Jeffrey added.

FREE ALERTS & NEWSLETTERS

Social Studies

The Paris men’s calendar just gained another heavy hitter: Celine will stage a show in January, mere months after creative director Hedi Slimane launched its men’s wear division during a coed show on Sept. 28. 📸: @thekateowen
Styled by @thealexbadia
#celine
#spring2019
#fashiontrends

Manolo Blahnik will receive the Luxury Legend award from Walpole, the sector body for U.K. luxury, during the black-tie British Luxury Awards on Monday, but the iconic shoe designer says he nowhere near the “legendary status” level. “A legend? I don’t think I’ll ever be a legend. That’s maybe in other people’s minds — but not in mine. I still have a future, a few more years — I hope,” he tells WWD.
#wwdfashion
#manoloblahnik

Fendi marked the 10th anniversary of its Peekaboo bag by partnering with artists to reinterpret it for Design Miami. Sabine Marcelis, for one, froze the handbag within a resin block, allowing "translucent colors" to emphasize the shape of the bag. The designs will be on display at Design Miami, running Dec. 5–9.
#wwdnews
#fendi
#fendipeekaboo

Maapilim, the direct-to-consumer grooming start-up has raised a $4 million Series A round. The company, headquartered in Tel Aviv and founded by husband duo Jonathan and Doron Keren, focuses on high-end, natural, men's grooming products sourced from the Mediterranean coasts. The lineup includes shower, grooming, hair and skin products, and the rose gold-covered safety razor pictured here, reports @_a_collins . #wwdbeauty

The first retrospective of Dior in the U.S. has landed at the Denver Art Museum — and though the exhibition is a continuation of the 70th-anniversary display that bowed in Paris in 2017, “Christian Dior, Couturier du Rêve,” the DAM show offers an entirely new look at the legacy of the house, and its relationship to the world, writes @leighen .
📸: @jamesfloriophotography #wwdeye
#dior